Day 56 Bergen, Norway

Day 56 Bergen, Norway

Fiords, mountains, forests, reindeer, Trolls, Santa Claus, Vikings, Hagar, fish, caviar, home of the Noble Peace Prize and rain.

Home of the Vikings. Viking Warriors were feared for their ferocity and skills using axe, sword, spear and bow. They attacked the coasts of Europe, North America, England, Scotland and Ireland. In Istanbul (Constantinople), the Vikings were used as bodyguards to the Emperor of the Byzantine. An early English Prayer 'From the fury of the Norsemen, good Lord preserve us', describes how fierce these traditional owners of Norway were.

Bergen is built around the harbour and wharf with a backdrop of pine covered mountains. Many of the office buildings and warehouses have been preserved, giving the town its sense of history. The medieval part of the town called Bryggen, is an area of traditional wooden houses built at right angles to the docks. German Traders who came to Bergen in the 1230's  had been granted permission to spend the winter periods here, inspiring a strong export centre.  Between the buildings are plank coated passages covered by large balconies. We spent a considerable amount of time wandering through these narrow alleyways and into little shops which sold traditional Norwegian handicrafts. We found most things quite expensive.

A ride on the Floibanen Funicular to the summit of the mountain to overlook the city and bay area was the first thing we did when we arrived this morning. By the time we got back to the base station, the line-up to go onto the train ride had more than trebled. They only take Norwegian Kroner but fortunately we were able to pay using our visa debit card. Phew!

We walked over to the old castle and grounds area when the skies opened up to another deluge of rain. Again, our $1 'Cheap as Chips' plastic ponchos came out and kept us dry. Last night when we retired to our cabin, I had the curtains opened as I read the last book in the trilogy, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, (thanks Rob and Loz), Paul watched some movie on TV, then I glanced at my watch and realized the time. At 11.30pm it was still daylight outside!. Wow. We quickly decided to close the curtains and go to bed as we had an early rise this morning.

Yesterday the Captain spoke to the passengers of his disgust at some who had been rude and abusive to the Passenger Services staff after missing the scheduled port of Amsterdam. He threatened to throw off, at the next available port, any passengers identified in future incidences. He announced a zero tolerance to any passenger abusing his staff. Most passengers applauded his announcement. Kudos to him for his decision.

We left Bergen around 5pm and spent 2 hours sailing past the many beautiful pine covered islands before we entered the North Sea. The North Sea was as expected was a little rough but this morning, the sea is reasonably flat as if we are in the Mediterranean. There were quite a few oil rigs visible on the horizon last night. We are heading to Glasgow,  Scotland. I am thinking kind thoughts of Loz's Mum and Dad, John and Christine, who hail from this area.